LAURELDALE -- With Karleigh Lutz controlling the pins and also leading a stellar Cumberland Valley passing game, the Eagles rolled through Downingtown East 3-0 Saturday afternoon in a PIAA Class AAA girls' volleyball quarterfinal at Muhlenberg High School.

CV (21-1) surged late in Game 1 to snag momentum and won by scores of 25-22, 25-18 and 25-17. Southern Lehigh, champion of District 11, awaits in Tuesday's semifinals at Governor Mifflin Intermediate School, 6:30. Southern Lehigh topped Upper Merion 3-1.

Karleigh Lutz (9) posted a match-high 14 kills as Cumberland Valley advanced to the PIAA semifinals for the first time in program history with a 3-0 sweep of Downingtown East Saturday. (HARVEY LEVINE, Special to PennLive.com, 2013)

Lutz, a senior outside hitter, finished with a match-high 14 kills, and the Eagles as a whole passed brilliantly for much of the match. Back-row players Rachel Miller, Julie Nightwine and Autumn Otto also contributed to the strong passing which, in turn, set up another typically balanced CV attack.

The Cougars (19-3) from District 1 rode the hot hand of outside hitter Lauren Mueller to a 21-16 lead in Game 1, a 9-1 run staking them to the advantage.

But CV responded with a run of its own to steal momentum.

KEY MOMENTS

A Lutz kill began the Eagles' game-ending 9-1 run to finish the opener, but there were also three huge blocks from Weihbrecht in the spurt. An ace by Nightwine finished the 25-22 victory.

Game 2 was tight until a five-point surge by Cumberland Valley gave it a 20-14 lead, with two kills by Lutz and two blocks by Friers.

CV was in control for almost the entirety of Game 3, with the defense holding the Cougars without a kill until it was 13-7.

STAT GAME

After Lutz's 14 kills, the next CV leaders were Scott (9), Weihbrecht (8) and senior weakside hitter Emma Hager (4). Friers added three kills to her 29 assists and three blocks, while Weihbrecht totaled seven blocks out of the middle. Nightwine served three aces, with two from Stephanie Neast, while Scott and Lutz led with 11 and 10 digs, respectively.

Mueller led Downingtown East with 13 kills, with nine of those coming in Game 1. Caroline Ambrogi added six kills, while Rachael Graham posted 18 assists. The Cougars managed just one ace and one block.

QUOTABLE

Lutz on what turned momentum in Game 1: "Basically we weren't putting the ball down, and we just had to keep digging through. We knew we were giving up some bad points. We had to control our side, and we just took a breath, controlled it and pushed all the way through."

Lutz on the importance of strong passing: "To us, when we get the balls right, we have such good offense. Everyone can hit on this team. It makes it 10 times easier to get the pass to the setter, and she can make easy sets. Then we can control our side, and if we control our side, we're pretty good."

Lutz on Weihbrecht's major contributions out of the middle: "For some reason Marybeth doesn't think she's good, but she is just amazing. I mean, she hits 10 foot [line with her swings], and that's pretty crazy. We've been working in practice on feeding the middles because a lot of people look at our pin hitters, but if we get our middles going, then we're going to be pretty good."

CV coach Jackie Orner on adjusting to Mueller: "We stuck with what we normally play coming into this, and once we saw where her primary shots were scoring, we made the defensive adjustments. We moved our blockers around a little bit, and once she started losing lanes to shoot through, she struggled. And I think their passing broke down a little bit because of our offense, and that didn't set her up very well. So it wasn't just a matter of controlling her but controlling their ability to get the ball to her."

Orner on Weihbrecht's growing confidence: "I don't think Marybeth realizes how good she is sometimes. She's a very humble player. The players trust her, and I think now she's starting to see why."

FINAL REACTION

Downingtown East looked like world beaters in building that 21-16 lead in Game 1, but Cumberland Valley flipped the switch so quickly and, from then on, outclassed the Cougars. This was CV's first three-game sweep since South Western in the first round of the District 3 tournament, which tells me they're gaining confidence and even a bit of that killer instinct so sought after in sports.

Lutz played probably her best game of the playoffs, too, as somebody new seems to step up a notch each match. And, as mentioned previously, the passing of Lutz, Scott, Nightwine, Miller and Otto set the table. When Friers has the luxury of utilizing all her hitters, CV looks like, well, a Top 4 team in the state. (Which it officially is now.)